Are you a famicable Facebook friend?

Vouchercodespro.co.uk found that 35% of Brits will friend people on Facebook that they don’t actually like. They also admit that they would probably not entertain the thought of speaking to them in real life and so their online friendship is built on falsities. The poll coined the rise of ‘The Famicable Facebook Friend.’

The average Brit has 287 Facebook friends, however a mere 31 are deemed close friends, which is just 10% of their entire friends list.

34% said that there are people on the page who they don’t like and would not talk to in real life if they bumped into them in the street. Most had around nine people who would fall into this category on their page.

When those taking part in the study were asked to disclose the reasons why they maintained these online “famicable friendships” the top reasons were as follows:

I don’t like them but I still like to see their photos/statuses to find out what they are up to in life (58%)

They are a family member/a loved one’s family member (47%)

They are a colleague/former colleague/industry peer that I need to stay in contact with (36%)

I wouldn’t like to face the consequences of deleting them as a friend (26%)

Being friends with them allows me to see what others are doing (my children/family etc.) (17%)

22% of Brits have had an argument over Facebook with the main cause being attributed to a vague status that they had assumed was bout them (28%).

George Charles, Marketing Director of Voucher Codes Pro, made the following comments on the results of the study:

“It seems with the results of this study, the old saying about keeping your friends close, but your enemies even closer, is definitely alive and well even in today’s society with our reliance on the internet.“

He continued,

“What with the extensive amount of information we are all now sharing on our social media pages, and the overwhelming need to see what everyone is up to, it really is no wonder that so many of the respondents in the study confessed that they have “Famicable Facebook friends”.

by Lucy Moore for relationships.femalefirst.co.uk
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